Happy Birthday Estonia, you remind me of Singapore
A close investor friend of mine asked me to summarise Estonia for her. This is what I said.
Estonia is Singapore, just colder.
- Food
While you definitely would not expect Estonian food to be like local Singaporean food, what you would be very surprised to find is in Tallinn; the choices of almost all kinds of cuisine is large. Amazingly large. Indian, Mexican, Asian, and all the normal European dishes of course.
What is more surprising to the girl who grew up in one of the top eating cultures in the world was how delicious and authentic these gastronomical delights were. Trust me. I know my food.
In Singapore, we pride ourselves on knowing the best of the best and where they are found. This includes the best chicken rice not just in Singapore, but Malaysia, London and basically anywhere else that could pretend to sell chicken rice. (pretend to sell: Singlish expression for ‘faking it till you make it)
I ate and ate and ate in Estonia.
What they do have one upmanship on Singapore food, is the freshness of their produce. As a country with much natural resources and land, their fruits and food are farm to table at times. Oh my goodness.
So when my mentor who was is an international traveler texted me to say she was going to Tallinn from her London trip, I introduced her to
Leib — https://www.visitestonia.com/en/restaurant-leib
I ate there.. like three times in the month I was there
There are a few others — write me.. and I will spill the beans.
2. Technology enabled
I am an e-resident of Estonia. This means I can start a company there and I don’t need a bank account from Estonia. We can use Fintech options.
Everything moved with ease. Estonia is not an early adopter, it is a leader in e-government and remember Skype? Yes. Estonian.
Transfer wise has a card https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/card which is free to pay with currencies in your account
- Free ATM withdrawals up to £200 a month
- Only pay a small conversion fee when you convert your money — typically between 0.35% and 1%
- Automatically convert your money at the real exchange rate
No they did not pay me to tell you that. I was simply impressed when one of my course mates showed me his. I had card envy. Did I mention Transferwise is Estonian?
Singapore has always been technology enabled. So to find a country matching mine in that aspect. Thrilled I was.
Also helps that both have thriving Startup Eco-systems which I am part of and help scale startups across countries. I was pleased when one leading startup founder officially announced she was re-locating to Singapore as she was growing the startup. Will be hanging out with her soon and introducing her to local food.
3. Transport
Same as Tech.
Ease
Safe
Secure
Clean
User-friendly
Predictable
On-time
OH my goodness.. you can imagine as a world traveler all the other countries whose transport systems cannot bear the same scrutiny. So I love to travel leisurely in one of the many other countries where public transport is a mess. However as person who likes efficiency in her work day — so she can read a book and have a massage and catch some beauty sleep otherwise; Estonia is Singapore and I love both their transport systems.
4. Safety
I walked home alone and felt safe.
In my month there, one homeless or challenged man went into the cafe I was at and acted in a verbally challenging manner. However everyone acted in a professional and neighborly manner and he was helped out and authorities were informed.
I saw one older man drunk at a train platform and he fell. Instantly some younger Estonians came to his rescue.
Apart from that — safe, respectful and generally calm.
I am so proud to be in Singapore because I know my physical safety is protected to the best my country can.
So yes Estonia. I felt like home.
5. Interested in learning
I really saw a keen interest in learning and growing in the way the country was set up. Perhaps also my local new friends showed me how amazing they were. International minded. Most spoke English. As a small country like Singapore in terms of population, we were facing more outward to the rest of the world.
I enjoyed that thoroughly and conversations were rich and peppered with world issues beyond our own countries.
Another CEO just came back from an extended learning trip to Singapore. Talking to her was so refreshing and her company’s work is bespoke and helps improve staff well-being by leaps and bounds.
6. Small
The smallness here means almost homely.
For me it was manageable, contained, predictable and so psychologically it was easier for me personally to manage.
When I work in India, it is NOT small. Just like Africa is NOT one country.
Estonia, Singapore.. small(er) and very global
Differences?
Definitely Singapore has more diversity in the population. More different Asian nationalities and also rest of the world.
Estonia has so much more nature! I cannot wait to go back and explore it all
White Nights — they are addictive! And Singapore is tropical and hot all year round.
LOVE YOU SINGAPORE. HAPPY NATIONAL DAY MONTH
Beginning to .. maybe love you Estonia.. :) Happy 100th Year Birthday
(your un-official Fan)
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I was honored to be invited to…
Enterprise Estonia Singapore requests the pleasure of your company
for an evening to celebrate the Restoration of Independence Day
As Estonia Celebrates 100 years!
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Been to Singapore and Estonia? Or are a E-resident? Or just want to chat about living in 2 or more continents because you can and you fell in love with the people and place? Write me :) We Global Citizens should chat.
